Downtown Kobe
   The edges of the city near the mountains and near the seacoast both have their own unique moods. The area from the breakwater to the coastal highway is very popular these days. Fashionable boutiques and restaurants have opened one after another and more and more young people are flocking to them.

Western-Style Mansions    Westerners who came to Kobe to live at the beginning of the Meiji Era built trading offices in the foreign settlement and western-style mansions on the mountain bluffs overlooking the sea. These stately homes with and exotic flair can still be seen today.
					Nankinmachi    Here can be found numerous restaurants and grocery stores run by Chinese residents. Brimming with a foreign atmosphere, it is here that the exciting Chinese New year Festival is held on the lunar new year, entertaining visitors.
		Mt. Rokko Ranch    Modeled on a Swiss mountain dairy farm, the Mt. Rokko Ranch raises cows, horses, sheep and goats. Milk “fresh from the cow” is a popular item at the rest house.

Akashi Kaikyo Bridge    Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, the world's largest suspension bridge spans the Akashi Straits. It was completed in the Spring of 1998.   Minatogawa Jinjya    This shrine is familiarly called “Nanko-san”: the nick-name of a distinguished warrior in the fourteenth century, Masashige Kusunoki who is enshrined here. On its premises, camphor trees are grown and singing birds make you feel relaxed. There are a “Noh” stage, the gravestone of Masanari and the “Treasure Museum”, displaying a collection related to “Nanko-san.”

		Suma Beach    Suma Beach is well-known as the “Mecca” of marine sports.
Himeji Castle    Himeji Castle is located in Himeji city, to the west of Kobe, well-known as “White Heron Castle” (Shirasagi-jo), widely regarded as Japan's finest remaining castle.	Akashi Planetarium    The Akashi Planetarium is located on Hitomarusan 135°east longitude, right on the meridian for Japan Standard Time. The moment when the sun passes directly overhead is exactly noon in Japan. This is the reference point for Japan Standard Time. The tower clock had to be replaced after the Great Hanshin Earthquake. The old clock now sits prominently in the campus of the University. It keeps perfect time!